Madrid to Seville advice

4 friends have booked flights to Madrid, arriving 21 Feb at 10:15, returning 23 Feb at 17:50. They want to go from Madrid to Seville Santa Justa station on the high speed rail route.

Any advice on how to book the most cost effective rail tickets would be appreciated, plus any advice for those that may have done this journey. 2 friends are blind and I'm not sure if any disabled concessions apply on the rail. Is it fairly easy to get from Madrid airport to the rail station?

Which airport terminal in Madrid?
There are 2 main terminal areas, T1/2/3 (the older part, EasyJet etc) and T4 (new, mainly Iberia), and it can be a pain transferring between the two.

The Metro has stations in both terminal areas and goes to Atocha station for Seville and is a bit like the Piccadilly line from Heathrow.
RENFE runs a faster suburban service (cercanias) from Barajas T4 direct to Chamartin and Atocha stations and is more like Heathrow Connect.

There are RENFE long-distance tickets which include a free ride on cercanias services - you get a code to insert into the TVMs to get the free ticket.
The RENFE site takes a bit of getting used to but you should be offered all the discount options to book e-tickets.
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html

There is also a Tarjeta Dorada (senior railcard) if that is of any use (over 60).
It gives 40% discount on ordinary fares (not the cheap Promo ones).
You can get one for €10 by emailing you passport details to the Spanish Railways office in London (you need the card number to book discounted tickets).
http://www.spanish-rail.co.uk/train-promotions-111.html

Don't get lost in Seville!
The station is a fair way out and I made the mistake of trying to walk it.
Their tourist maps also have the confusing property of not having north at the top...

LNW-GW Joint said:

There are RENFE long-distance tickets which include a free ride on cercanias services - you get a code to insert into the TVMs to get the free ticket.
The RENFE site takes a bit of getting used to but you should be offered all the discount options to book e-tickets.
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html

Click to expand...

See www.seat61.com for advice on using the RENFE website.

Why not fly? Disabled assistance from check in UK until Sevilla. AVE is massively overpriced, stations no where near they need to go and the worse kind of EU funded pyramid scheme development.

If you choose to take the Metro, it departs from the Terminal 1,2 and 3 building, close to Terminal 2, it's a couple of changes from the Airport to Atocha RENFE. It should take about 40 minutes and the fastest way to do it is

Line 8 towards Nuevos Ministerios from the Airport to Nuevos Ministerios
Line 10 towards Puerta del Sur from Nuevos Ministerios to Tribunal
Line 1 towards Valdecarros from Tribunal to Atocha.

The cost of using the Metro for this is 5 Euros each.



If you are arriving at Terminal 4, and choose to take the Cercanias, services depart at 27 and 57 minutes past each hour, and take half an hour to reach Atocha Cercanias, and costs 2,60 Euros each

theageofthetra said:

Why not fly? Disabled assistance from check in UK until Sevilla. AVE is massively overpriced, stations no where near they need to go and the worse kind of EU funded pyramid scheme development.

Click to expand...

Ignoring the man in the pub style political axe grinding as per the above, as someone that at least once a year has to get to Andalucía (Cordoba or Seville), we often end up getting a good price on a flight into MAD and then the AVE down as flights to Seville or Malaga can get pretty expensive.

I freely admit I cannot talk to what assistance RENFE may provide for those who are visually impaired, but as it is one of their key routes and there are plenty of staff at the stations I am sure it is available if needed and booked.

As others have said, a key consideration in getting from the airport at Barajas to Atocha is which terminal your flights arrive in. I have always deliberately set up my journeys so that I arrive and depart from T4 which has the direct roomy (Iberian gauge) Cercanias train to Atocha (which is quickest) and is included in an AVE ticket.

It is certainly possible to do it and not difficult and good price fares are available (as in the UK the question is what level of flexibility you want - that is also a factor in terms of allowing time between plane and train). I think the biggest question is how you think your friends will get on. Singles with no refund or change (promo) start from around €22.

As for Seville Santa Justa - just get a taxi. There are plenty outside the station.

Thanks all for the helpful responses.

They're going to see Leicester play in Seville so direct flights are now pricey. Arriving into Terminal 1 Madrid. Seat61 was very informative and indeed the Renfe site is very fiddly. I've found the Loco2 site easy to check prices and according to Seat61, print at home tickets from Loco2 includes free suburban transfer using Cascanias from T4 to Atocha.

Found very good prices on Preferente 1st Class non flexible, which I believe offers an inclusive meal with wine on the AVE to Seville but no 1st Lounge access. Their flight arrives Madrid T1 at 1015, do you reckon the 1200 AVE from Atocha is too tight and the 1330 a safer bet? If booking Spanish tickets on Loco2, do I need to enter passport numbers for all passengers?

bengolding said:

They're going to see Leicester play in Seville so direct flights are now pricey. Arriving into Terminal 1 Madrid. Seat61 was very informative and indeed the Renfe site is very fiddly. I've found the Loco2 site easy to check prices and according to Seat61, print at home tickets from Loco2 includes free suburban transfer using Cascanias from T4 to Atocha.

Found very good prices on Preferente 1st Class non flexible, which I believe offers an inclusive meal with wine on the AVE to Seville but no 1st Lounge access. Their flight arrives Madrid T1 at 1015, do you reckon the 1200 AVE from Atocha is too tight and the 1330 a safer bet? If booking Spanish tickets on Loco2, do I need to enter passport numbers for all passengers?

Click to expand...

You ask difficult questions!
With a following wind you could just get the 1200, either using the Metro from T1 or the 1057 Cercanias from T4 (after using the inter-terminal transfer bus from T1 to T4 - this goes miles on the endless link roads and stops everywhere en route).
But you are reliant on EasyJet (or whoever) being punctual and getting through passport control without delay.
Personally, I'd aim for the 1330.

This is an Alvia (dual gauge, probably Talgo) service, not AVE, runs through the gauge changer approaching Seville and goes through to Cadiz on the broad gauge.
It's a few minutes slower than the dedicated AVE trains.
As it happens I used this train (from Cordoba) last year.
There will be a bar car, but no free meals I think.

I can see a €34.60 Preferente fare on Renfe for the 1330, but cheapest shown on the 1200 is €58.50.
If you get an hour or so to wait at Atocha, there are plenty of eating places and a tropical garden to explore, all under cover.